We are recovered...I think!

Well, it was a long weekend away from home this past weekend, and here it is Wednesday night and I would have to say we are just now recovered from it all.  With the rehearsal dinner Friday night, the wedding Saturday, reception that night, Sunday church and a gift opening luncheon Allen and I were tired.  Sylvia was completely wiped out! I'm so proud of our little munchkin though.  She really did much better than I expected she would with the little amount of napping and upset in feeding schedule we had.  She still did a lot smiling and even danced with Allen and me at the reception. 

My little brother is finally married! Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday we were playing make believe together in the backyard at my parents house.  Now, I'm married with a baby.  He's married with two step-children!

So, I saved this little piece of news for last SYLVIA HAS A TOOTH! Maybe even two, she wouldn't let me keep my finger in her mouth long enough to be sure about two, but I'm positive about one.  You can't really see it very well yet, and it isn't fully errupted but it's there.  Definately there!

Our little girl is growing up so fast.  I can't believe it!

Good job Sylvia!

Last night Sylvia slept from 8:30 p.m. to 7:15 a.m. with only three fairly short awakenings. This is better than most nights.  Still no teeth, but poor baby girl surely must be getting one soon.   She is drooling up a storm and chewing on her lip, and feeling a little on the cranky side.  We still had fun today, it was just alot harder work on Allen's and my part to keep her smiling. I did get some smiles though! :)

Working on it!

Sylvia Sue wants to crawl sooooo badly! She tries hard every day. Today, though, she is making some progress.  I have seen her scoot herself backwards a few times.  Of course, it's not what she wants to do so she doesn't care that she moved backwards. She wants to go where she wants to go, so these crawling attempts are ending in tears.  It's hard to know where to draw the line with her frustration.  I usually sit and let her cry for at least three minutes.  I try to encourage her, but there really isn't any comforting her.

A great weekend

Daddy and his girls!

Smiling at Daddy!

Sooo cute!

YAY RIBBON!

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day.  Allen's first as a dad! We had a really great day and even though Sylvia didn't get very much sleep, she held up really well.  It was really nice to get to go to church with Allen's mom and dad. We took several cute pics.  If you will notice the two outfits, Sylvia decided she wanted a wardrobe change between the Sturgeon family celebration and the Hannibal family celebration.  She peed all over the first dress when Allen went to change her diaper. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Two New Things

Today, I went grocery shopping and came home with something for Sylvia.  Two somethings actuallly.  A new pair of pajamas, and a set of shape blocks.  She loved both! She's so smart that she is already starting to get the hang of the blocks.  Of course she can't sort them yet, but she did put them in the bucket and take them out.

Sylvia Sleeps...some more! YAY!

Such a wonderful thing!

One of the cutest pictures I have ever seen!

Well this week has definately had its ups and downs regarding Sylvia's sleeping.  We had a really great night in the middle of the week where she slept all night and even late! Last night was a not so great night where she treated bed time like it was nap time, and got up after 45 minutes of sleep and stayed awake until almost 11 p.m, then got up two hours later, and again at 6:30.  Today was a new day though, and that's how we have to approach this. One day at a time.  Sylvia has been successfully taking naps without being swaddled, but refusing to do it at night.  In case you didn't know, she is WAY to old to still need swaddling.  In the beginning the swaddling is to remind them of the tightness of the womb and to keep their startle reflex at bay.  We are way past that now.  She has been using swaddling as a pacifier of sorts.  It has comforted her and helped her sleep.  Well, she is a growing girl, and she is now about 1/2 a centimeter away from being too long for the biggest velcro-swaddler they sell. We considered cutting holes in the bottom of the current swaddler, but the truth is we just need to help her sleep without it.  We also need her to be able to fall asleep on her own, instead of us rocking her to sleep for all naps and bedtime.  Recently we made two purchases to assist in our efforts. We bought a wearable blanket to help keep Sylvia warm and comfortable at night We purchased a white noise/lullaby machine to replace the music from her swing, and to have something to travel with us for trips to Sturgeon.  It has been a lifesaver and I'm so glad we bought it! It also has a rotating projection that displays on the ceiling.

Today, for her afternoon nap she wasn't wanting to calm down to fall asleep.  I was rocking her in the rocking chair to no avail.  She wanted to pull my hair and give me kisses.  Which don't get me wrong, is pretty darn cute , but not at nap time.  So, I put her down in the crib and turned on her projector and walked out of the room.  She played by herself, babbling away for a good solid ten minutes minutes before she realized I wasn't coming back.  Then she fussed, but it was a mild fuss.  No screaming, and it lasted only about two minutes.  Then there was silence.  I waited a few minutes and then crept into the room to find my beautiful baby girl asleep with the little stuff dog we bought her on her arm. See the picture above!

I had no expectations of being able to duplicate the success for bedtime, but I gave it a try, and again to my utter surprise it worked! We read our bedtime stories, said our prayers and did kisses, but I put her in the crib while she was wide awake and walked out of the room.  Again, there was some mild fussing, and it was about five minutes worth this time, but sure enough she fell asleep on her own without having to be rocked to sleep. 

Now, as I've been typing this blog she did wake up once crying.  I picked her up and patted her back a few times and then laid her back in the crib and knelt beside the crib for no longer than three minutes until she was fast asleep again!

It feels good to have the starts of  a truly successful bedtime.  I only hope it lasts. We shall see!

Today was the Babies and Books program at the library.  It went really well! I had a lot of babies come and we had a lot of fun.  Some of the moms even requested that we run the program again.  My supervisor seemed impressed and she has asked me to do it monthly! So, it's kind of going to be my thing! :) I'm really excited about it.  It was a great feeling doing something I love today.  Sylvia and Allen were able to be there too which was very special. 

My friend Michelle and I opted out a hot and sunny walk in the park , for a nice indoor play date. The adorable picture above was snapped by Michelle.  Her baby boy crawled right up to Sylvia and put his forehead against hers.  It was one of the cutest things I think I have ever seen.  They talked to each other today too!

Well, I hope this lengthy blog makes up for the lack of blogs this week. I will try to do better next week!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Play time!

Sylvia and I had a really special time this evening.  Since Caleb was over, I took Sylvia to our bedroom to feed her. When she was done eating, we decided to stay in bed and just hang out with eachother for a little while.  She was laying horizontal on the bed and I was laying vertical so that my feet were close to hers and I could see her face.  She kicked both her legs hard on the bed.  I did the same.  She kicked her legs twice on the bed, I did the same.  Then she did it four times, and when I did the same her eyes lit up in recognition of what I was doing. We went back and forth several times, me copying her.  Then, she switched it up she kicked her legs down and moved her feet back and forth.  I did the exact same thing and she laughed.  We were playing! Now, don't get me wrong.  We play all the time, but this was different, more involved. More exciting! She's so smart! It was really fun, and I can't wait to do it again!

Sylvia Sleeps...sort of.

Well, last week was rough on us all sleep wise. She is still sleeping in her crib, but Sylvia has a habit of waking up at two a.m. now, and doesn't want to immediately go back to sleep.  Try explaining to a 6 months old that 2 a.m. is not the time to talk and play. Then almost like clock work, she is awake again at 6 a.m.  You are reading the words of one tired momma!

We went to Josh and Debbies joint bachelor/bachelorette party this weekend, and enjoyed some time with family.  Sylvia was pretty sociable until it was past her bedtime.  As late as she went to bed that night though, she still was up at 6:00 the next day. Silly Sylvia!